Winston Churchill statue daubed with graffiti calling him ‘Zionist war criminal’
The defacement follows police warnings over protest slogans and renewed tensions linked to recent terror attacks
The statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Westminster has been defaced with graffiti branding the former prime minister a “Zionist war criminal”.
Other phrases including “Stop the Genocide” and “Free Palestine” were sprayed in red paint on the bronze sculpture in Parliament Square, Westminster.
Further graffiti read “Never again is Now” and “Globalise the Intifada”.
The statue has been cordoned off and was being cleaned on Friday morning.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were alerted shortly after 4am and were on scene within two minutes. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Overnight, the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square was graffitied with red paint.” Police confirmed that a 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage and remains in custody.
A spokesperson for the Jewish Leadership Council said: “We are disgusted by the defacing of the Churchill statue in Parliament Square. In targeting the statue of a British hero who led this country in the fight against the Nazis, the perpetrator has found a perverse way to combine a hatred of Jews with a disdain for Britain.”
Last December both the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced anyone chanting the controversial slogan “globalise the intifada” would face arrest.
The decision by the two police forces came in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack, and the terror attack at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester on 2 October.
The Westminster City Council have been contacted for comment.
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